Maned Wolf

Maned Wolf

Mammalia

SCIENTIFIC CLASSIFICATION

COMMON NAME:

maned wolf

KINGDOM:

Animalia

PHYLUM:

Chordata

CLASS:

Mammalia

ORDER:

Carnivora

FAMILY:

Canidae

GENUS SPECIES:

Chrysocyon brachyurus

FAST FACTS

DESCRIPTION:

Overall coat is reddish-yellow. Hair along ridge of back is longer and may be darker than rest of coat. Muzzle and lower legs are dark. Throat and tail are light. Ears are long and pronounced. Hair along neck and shoulders is thick, longish, and erectile - hence the common name.

In a zoological setting, male maned wolves have been observed regurigitating food for their young. This may indicate that the male plays a significant role in the care of young in the natural enviroment.

ECOLOGY AND CONSERVATION

While not often hunted for its coat, the maned wolf is hunted as a reaction to its portrayal as a threat to domesticated livestock, particularly chickens. It faces additional pressures as its grassland habitat is burned for human purposes. The maned wolf currently has virtually no presence in Argentina and Uruguay as a result of these pressures. Of note, however, is the extension of their Brazilian range as they exploit recently deforested regions.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

Nowak, Ronald M. Walker's Mammals of the World - Volume I (Sixth Edition)